Former IPS officer LT Hrangchal joins Congress in Mizoram

Aizawl: Former Indian Police Service officer LT Hrangchal has joined the Indian National Congress.

The 1999 batch IPS officer was admitted into the party in the presence of Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla who recently faced internal rebellion. State home minister Lalzirliana had resigned after accusing the chief minister of “not keeping his promise” with regards to the creation of Saitual District.

Pu LT Hrangchal addresses party workers in Aizawl on October 8, 2018.

Party sources told zoramobserver.com that the entry of LT Hrangchal is expected to boost the party’s electoral fortune in northeastern Mizoram where a sizable Hmar tribe, the community to which the Hrangchal belongs, resides. Ticket allocations will be finalised on Thursday, according to party sources.

Local media reports quoted Hrangchal as saying that he joined the Congress party to fulfill the political aspirations of the Hmar tribe without mentioning specific details.

The Hmar People’s Convention (D) rebels and the Congress government had signed a peace accord in April this year with the hope of bringing an end to a struggle for autonomy that lasted over three decades. The HPC(D)-Mizoram accord led to the creation of Sinlung Hills Council in northeastern Mizoram.